The Morning After & Other Fairytales
by Leni
Summary: BA. Clause? What clause? Angel never lost his soul in Surprise. These ten ficlets are small scenes between Buffy and Angel in each S2 episode. Some fluff, some angst and bits of plots especially towards the end. Enjoy! Chapter Eight: Becoming II
1. Surprise Innocence

**TITLE:** The Morning After and Other Fairytales (1-10/10)  
**AUTHOR:** Leni  
**DISCLAIMER:** Dude. Feel the happiness? I'm not sure they are Joss's!  
**SUMMARY:** Alternate BtVS2. Let's admit it, we all have a 'What If...?' pet bunny. I have two: Courting Sin (Buffy/Angelus) and this one. It's about Angel never losing his soul. Yeah, I can hear the groaning. I'd ask you to have some faith in me, but these ficlets? Cute, cuter, sweet and one that is downright tooth-ache fluffy. pets them The plot will come later, when I finally find the time to 1) TYPE, and 2) Figure out what I want for the alternate finale. pokes bunny  
**THANK YOU:** to Sharon. For going over this and not minding when I practically jumped on her with the archive. To Kristi. For telling me that I wasn't crazy (I'm still not sure, sweetheart, but I'll take your word on it). And to Matt, because he said he'd go over the long version and that SO makes me breathe more freely! HUGS  
**DEDICATION:** To B/A fans, even when they don't like the fluff in their B/A. smooches Flist  
**FEEDBACK:** I'll beg. I'll plead. I'll be reaaaaally nice with it. grins

_Written for the 'Time' challenge at _**_ficvariations_**

**Surprise**

Thunder clashed outside again, making it impossible for Angel to fall asleep. 

The body beside him shifted a little, her hands clenching around the sheet's edge as her sleeping face crunched in instinctive apprehension of the weather's fury; but no sooner had she moved, then Buffy went back to her easy sleep. She didn't even seem to register his presence, never being fully awake.

But he still reached for her, stroked her cheek, and he had to smile when her features smoothed slightly at the contact. For a Slayer, she was sleeping soundly tonight. It made sense, since for the last nights her dreams had haunted her. Right now it seemed as if nothing could disturb her, and how he envied that serenity!

Thunderstorms were always the worst for him. Instead of drowning the accusations of past times, thunder seemed to make the ghosts louder. For decades, Angel had stayed wide awake through nights like this.

But tonight….

Tonight Buffy seemed to pull him into her dreams, just by laying as quietly as she did. Just by being there, maybe. That small smile in her face didn't let him remember the screams for long.

All the things she did and never noticed. Like giving storms a new meaning. Like turning his life upside down for a _third_ time, and making him think that there really existed charms in threes. Like… the last months, the good and the bad and the ugly and whatever as long as she was there. Like the fact that she'd only smile indulgently if he told her.

All those things, and she never noticed how much they meant.

**Innocence**

"So…"

"So…"

"You killed the Judge."

"And got a shiny rocket launcher in the same day!" Her grin fell as she noticed that he hadn't caught the joke.

Uncomfortable silence fell again.

Buffy told herself that she shouldn't have brought up Drusilla and Spike's survival at the mall. Of course Angel wouldn't feel as frustrated as her by that outcome. What had she been thinking? Things had been strained enough during the walk to her home to add _that_. She was such a dork!

She heaved a sigh. In retrospective, the whole day had been a wild roller coaster. Waking up at Angel's apartment, and all the fears that everything she did would be misconstrued as something she shouldn't have done. Being around Angel had never been so stressful, and even now Buffy could feel the tension between them.

It was a good tension, she had to remind herself. A thousand steps forward in what had to be the right direction. Right? Sure, kinda rushed steps. And with horrible timing. But here they were, and that they'd done and, if it weren't for that call back to reality courtesy of Scoobies Co., she'd be quite willing for a repeat. But…

…they'd gotten to her street already.

"That's my house."

Angel nodded.

"Guess I should…."

He nodded again.

Buffy looked at her shoes. They didn't offer any help. She took another deep breath and bravely smiled up at him, as if nothing could be wrong. "You're coming by tomorrow, right?"

He didn't nod this time.

That was _so_ wrong. She felt her heart drop to her feet. "I mean, I know. Vamps won't like having a Slayer with military weaponry in town, until the next Apocalypses comes by. Or earlier. This is the Hellmouth, after all." She was babbling. She didn't care. As long as she talked, he didn't have to answer. Therefore, his lack of answer couldn't hurt her. "So, patrol will be kind of slow. But slow patrols are good." Weren't they? Now their usual patrols looked colourless. Like preparing a sandwich when a buffet was held in the next room. Still, she liked sandwiches. Would _he_ still like them? Would he still like her when he discovered that she used food metaphors?

"Sure," he finally answered.

"Good," she said, trying not to sigh in relief. She didn't want to be that obvious.

That done, she really could find nothing else to say. He'd leave now, and she'd go greet her mom, and everything else would stay as strained between them. She didn't like it. She preferred this morning's tension, when she was naked and he was smiling and she wasn't quite sure _why_ he was smiling. But right now…. And just when things had gone so well! Tense, but good tense. She couldn't fool herself. This _wasn't_ good tense. "I'm sorry," she rushed out. "Tonight sucked. You were right; we shouldn't have gone back to the library. But I didn't think…. Which really should stay like that. I didn't think. Period."

"Buffy."

She bit her inner lip before raising her gaze to meet his.

He smiled thinly, shrugged. "It's okay. They love you; that's what matters."

"But…."

"See you tomorrow?"

Helplessly, she nodded. What else could she do? But she breathed more easily when he moved forward to kiss her good night.


	2. Phases

**Phases**

"Willow is dating a werewolf," he repeated, trying to wrap his mind around that concept.

"Will be, since tomorrow," she corrected. Buffy giggled when he glared at her, shrugged. "Expect the unexpected, huh?" She smiled. If Willow was happy, then she was happy. Tonight Willow had sounded really happy about her decision, so Buffy had proposed to be really supportive.

"I'd say," Angel answered. "What I still can't believe is that Oz has been a werewolf for the last week, and I never noticed."

Buffy rolled her eyes, glad that with her face hidden under his arm, he couldn't see her. Men. Somehow it always came back to their abilities. Angel had just mimicked Giles' attitude earlier, though she decided against filling him in on that fact. Angel definitely wouldn't get the fun factor. So she saved that bit for Willow Time and smoothly moved on to soothe her boyfriend's ego. "You didn't really see him in the last days, and who'd have suspected _Oz_, of all people. He's always so… _Oz_."

Angel grunted something that would have been 'you're right', if he wasn't so obviously obsessed with his supposed failure.

Buffy sighed. "Hey, Giles says werewolves are dormant most of the time, anyway. Next topic, please."

He didn't answer.

She sat up on the mattress and reached for the jacket at their feet. "Alright. Note to self: Do not bring up work when trying to get into boyfriend's pants." She patted his arm, amused. "See you tomorrow?"

She had to giggle as she was pulled back to her previous position. The things a girl had to do for a bit of attention!


	3. BBB

**BBB**

"Right. So, the bruise on his chin is yours."

"Oz's," he told her, a smile crossing his lips at the memory. "He has a mean right hook. Has he thought about training?"

She ignored his question. "The fingers around his neck, then. I can't see Oz trying to choke Xander, mad or not."

"And you can see me doing that?"

Her eyebrow rose tellingly. "Before today, not really. But now… oh yeah, Mr. Caveman."

Angel knew better than to smile. Even though she wasn't angry at his behaviour, she certainly didn't fully approve either. "I wouldn't have gone through with it."

Buffy dropped a kiss on the nearest patch of skin to show that she knew that. "Hm. His chin, his neck and five fingerprints on his cheek. He's gotten out safer from the Master's cave. It almost makes me feel guilty for slapping him. Were we too tough?"

"I thought you'd left me." 

Angel-to-Buffy translation: 'The whelp didn't get enough'. Guess those happy group meetings she and Willow had envisioned wouldn't be happening in the near future. Which, right now, was totally fine to her. Her Valentine's had been very Angel-less to begin with, and then she had to deal with love spells? No, her Xander-Love-Meter was low, _very_ low, tonight. Buffy sighed as she remembered the scene last night. Details were fuzzy, as if she hadn't really said and done those things. But she had. She'd gone and basically dumped Angel. For Xander.

Only the Hellmouth could have something that sucky in store for them.

Now she passed her arm over his body, but more than a hug, she sought his hands with hers. They said nothing as their hands twined together, and nothing as they stroked the metal around each other's ring finger.

For Buffy, this moment meant a 'Never again', and an 'Always', and maybe an 'Only if I lost my mind would I leave you'. "I should have hit him harder," she said instead.

Angel shrugged; he knew the feeling. He wished he could do like Giles and put the boy through a weeks-long assignment. As it was, he'd have to do with Xander's shock as he lifted his hand to nurse his red cheek.

"It just made me so angry," Buffy continued. "He was there, smiling as if nothing had happened. Hello? I was ratted!" She squirmed uneasily at the memory. "I can't believe he got what he wanted in the end."

"Makes me wonder about Cordelia's sanity."

"I was actually thinking of _why_ he'd want her that much."

Both questions could only be answered by Xander and Cordelia themselves, so Buffy and Angel silently decided to move back to their original topic: Xander's penalty. "Giles didn't do anything then? Not one scratch mark?"

"Rupert did place him under permanent shelving duty."

Buffy raised an eyebrow. "Must be the English in him." And she shook her head.

Angel thought about it, remembered the librarian's expression earlier. "In fact, I think he was busier making sure Jenny didn't get to Xander."

Buffy sniggered. "Miss Calendar preying on the underage student, and on school time! That must have been fun."

Angel tightened his hold around her back and at her hip and pulled her onto him. Buffy gasped, half in surprise and half in pleasure, and she eagerly met him in a slow, long kiss. "No, it wasn't fun at all," he said moodily when they separated.

She smiled gently down at him. "Hey, I'm here. I'm okay. Not a rodent and not hopelessly in love with my best friend…" She rolled her eyes at the thought. "Promise me that next Valentine's we're getting out of town?"

Angel grinned, kissed her again. He only hoped that she wasn't just joking, because that was exactly what he'd come up with.


	4. Passion

_Thank you for the lovely reviews. Especially to Yetihunter and Anna42hmr for the constant support._

**Passion**

She struggled against him with all her strength . "Let me go."

Angel tried his best to hold her still, bit his lip as her elbow connected painfully against is ribs. "You are exhausted, and you aren't thinking clearly. I'm not letting you go into the sewers like this."

"Damn it, Angel. I don't _care_. Let me go or I'll… I'll…."

"You'll make me. I know."

His voice sounded low against the back of her neck, and Buffy felt tears spring down her cheeks. Angel didn't loosen his grasp, though, and she didn't stop fighting him.

"I can't let her go."

She was sobbing openly now; Angel brought her back fully against his chest and only grumbled when she managed to hit him again. "Your mother needs you now."

"My mother is dead." She'd repeated those very words so many times in her head; but they still shocked her.

"She might not be."

"There was so much blood…" And her movements slowed as she ran through the scene that'd greeted her at her house earlier.

"Sunnydale is the best at emergency transfusions."

"There was so much blood…" she repeated. She hadn't really heard him.

Angel relaxed minimally as he felt her give up. "Spike won't let Dru endanger herself any further," he told her rationally. "But tomorrow he'll think he has the upper hand. He'll make mistakes, and that'll be our chance."

It was the 'our' that made her still and try to get a look at him, even if their positions didn't allow her any freedom. Our? But… So far, he'd always avoided taking direct action against Spike and Drusilla. Our? Really? "Tomorrow," she parroted. There was a headache chasing her, and it seemed to have waited until now to bloom awake. "I... I'll need clean clothes," she said, leaning a little against him. These smelled like fire and blood. She felt Angel nod behind her, and knew that he'd be leading her to Revello Drive. No, not to her house. She kept a change of clothes at Angel's. Yes, first his apartment, then the hospital.

And if her mother was dead...

If her mother was dead, Sunnydale's sewers would burn before dawn even if she had to fight Angel over it.


	5. Killed by Death

**Killed by Death**

"Stop fretting. I'm okay now." Angel looked at her, hard, as if he was trying to make out any trace of sickness on her face. Buffy frowned. "I. Am. Fine. See?" She raised her arms over her head and twirled around in the middle of his apartment… just to drop heavily onto his bed.

Angel cocked an eyebrow.

Buffy pouted. "Okay. Apparently I still am a tad dizzy. But only a tad! Besides, the doctors let me go, and _mom_ finally let me go. That must mean something, right?"

By the look on his face, all it meant was that she should be in her house, tucked in bed, not even thinking about walking all the way to his apartment. Probably asleep, too.

She'd tried that. For a week.

For the last six days and twenty-three hours, she'd bored herself to death. Turned out that Slayer's healing beat all the doctors' expectations, and this morning Buffy just couldn't bear it anymore.

Sure, Willow and Xander had tried to lift her spirits; but the guys couldn't make her smile with just a look. While it was fun to talk about school – never homework, as much as Willow tried to steer the pair of them in that direction - and tease Xander about Cordelia, Buffy also liked to talk about future patrols, or about why that move in the last patrol had failed her so spectacularly. Needless to say that the one she wanted to have these conversations with was _not_ Giles.

She wanted Angel, and Angel barely visited her. Therefore, like a true almost-21st-century woman, she'd taken matters into her own hands and gone to him. 

She'd expected… a little more smile to his greeting. Or a kiss. She'd definitely expected a kiss. For a week she'd fantasized about kissing him until she felt better, and that he'd kiss her back. Right now, he didn't see inclined to do anything of the sort.

"Angel," she whined, "please don't make me go home. Please? Mom is diving me nuts!"

"I thought you liked that."

"Sure I did. A week ago! But now she _really_ is driving me nuts. One night at the hospital and I am her poor little girl." While she talked, she settled comfortably against the headboard. Angel may or may not know it, but she wasn't leaving until she had to. In, ten more hours, maybe? She'd been really missing him, and it didn't help that when he _was_ in her room, he never stayed for long. "Suddenly she doesn't remember that she was attacked by a friend of mine. And don't tell me about telling her about the Slayer stuff."

Angel, who'd just opened his mouth, closed it again.

"So, I can stay?"

Angel blinked. Somewhere in the last minute she'd made herself at home on her usual spot. He could have glared at her, and sooner or later she'd listen to him and go back home. But he _had_ missed her. Seeing her only for a couple minutes in the last week had taken its toll on him. And she looked so happy, sitting there.

How could he throw her out when she looked so comfy – so _right_ - on his bed?


	6. IOHEFY

**I Only Have Eyes For You**

Buffy sighed.

This had to be the mother of awkward dates. A quiet night together had ended up with spirits messing with them. Even for the Hellmouth, this was extreme.

Buffy could have forgiven the spookiness of her body moving under someone else's will, but not the way James and Miss Newman had opened all the cans of worms in her and Angel's relationship.

Now Angel wouldn't even meet her gaze, and Buffy saw in the taut line of his shoulders that he'd taken the teacher's role too close to heart. The worst part was that she understood him. James had touched her thoughts and feelings, too; made her realise how alike to his they were.

Was that her, deep within? Just another teenager too much in love, too dependent and too helpless to think straight if Angel left her?

Was that Angel? Too worried about people's opinion about them? Too willing to let her go if he thought it was for the best?

Buffy reached for his hand, seeking refuge from her thoughts. His grip was as tight as hers, and even when they still hadn't said a word about this night, Buffy knew he was going through a parallel thought process. "I'm scared."

His lips tensed. So did his back.

"I _really_ wanted to hurt you."

"That wasn't you," he said.

Buffy let out a frustrated sigh. "Don't go Giles on me now, Angel. I _know_ I was possessed. I was there. Well, kinda." She came to halt, rounded to face him and tried really hard to make sense of the look in his eyes. "You were there, too," she whispered. "Tell me you didn't want to make me go."

He shook his head. "It's not like that. Grace did what she thought was the best. Even to the end, she did what was best for y--- for him."

"You'd let me go?"

She wanted to run when she read the answer in his expression. Instead she yelped in surprise as his fingers almost buried themselves around her hand.

"I _can't_ let you go."

Buffy could count on the fingers of one hand the times he'd told her that he loved her. On her birthday, at the hospital – twice, and once at the Bronze, the one she treasured the most because neither had been in peril. Tonight she had the feeling this was a fifth, even if the wording didn't match.

She nodded slowly, more to herself than to him. No, she still didn't understand why Angel would leave her. But she trusted him when he said that he wouldn't. "Then tell me that it's a good thing." She was pressing, she knew. But she felt as if she'd gotten out of a tornado, and she needed some reassurance.

The shadows on his face lifted for a moment, and he tugged on her until she was resting her head against his shoulder. "It's a good thing."

Buffy laughed quietly, though she knew it was a nervous laugh. A 'the world almost ended but we still are together' kind of laugh. "I'm sorry I shot you."

He laughed; the same laugh.

But if he said it was good, then it was.


	7. Go Fish

Again, thank you for the reviews. Why are these ficlets so short? Because the 'mommy' versions (i.e.: the actual alternate episodes) are written only up to 'Passion', and I'm still thinking how to link all the details for the finale. 

K&S 

Leni

**---**

**Go Fish**

"I hate demons. I really, really hate them. They are evil; they open Hellmouths, and they totally ruined my night. I only wanted to stay a bit longer! Beach parties are fun, even when being on the lower part of the highschool chain-food has its drawbacks. But it was a demon-free party! And not _everyone_ was nasty, and..."

A corner of his lips quirked up; but he stayed silent.

Buffy noticed the change in his expression, though, and she rolled her eyes. "Cameron was just being nice, Angel. And for the thousandth time, I wasn't flirting with him."

"So you said," he answered calmly. "A thousand times, I think."

He was teasing her. In that quiet way of his where she couldn't really blame him for it. It was infuriating. Wherever he'd picked that up, Buffy wanted to return it. Pronto.

Okay, not really. Maybe just when they were alone? Because her friends' shocked faces when her boyfriend came out on top of one of Xander's jokes was priceless. It seemed like every week Angel came up with a new facet to show her. At this rate, soon she'd fear of being too dull for him. Soon, as in weeks ago.

She pushed that thought back to the depths of her brain. Fretting did no good at all. Instead she focused on the unsaid accusation in Angel's eyes as he came up to her at the party. "I was just making time 'til you arrived," she pouted. "Not my fault that you are time-telling impaired."

Angel threw an arm around her shoulders, pulled her closer. "I figure, if a guy tries to make a pass at a beautiful girl, can I blame him? Besides, I got you to leave with me. That'd make me the winner."

"There was never a competition." She shook her head, amused despite herself. "And, you got me out because of a corpse. A skin-peeled corpse. E-ew! You'll really have to work on--- Hey. Wait right there. I'm the beautiful girl?"


	8. Becoming I

**Becoming I**

She tightened her hold on his wrist, then let it go at his wince. "What did they do to you?"

"Nothing they didn't think I deserved."

Buffy felt tears come unbidden to her eyes. "Stop that," she whispered. "Just wait 'til I find them. They'll wish they'd never set foot on Sunnydale."

There was no answer.

Buffy looked up, alarmed when she saw that he'd fallen unconscious again. Giles had said to keep him awake, and his voice had been quite urgent. Buffy didn't like it when Giles got upset; it meant bad things. _Bad_. She shook his arm again, as harshly as she could under the circumstances.

Angel opened his eyes groggily, without fully focusing on her. "Was I asleep?"

She summoned a smile and shook her head. "Just spaced out a bit, you inattentive boyfriend of mine. I'm told that happens." She put her hand lightly on top of his, making sure not to apply any pressure. "You never told me why you came to Sunnydale."

He chuckled. "You were here."

This time her smile was more sincere. "Flatterer." It was a habit by now, to trace the silver line on his palm. She did it unconsciously, to remind herself that he was there, safe now. "That's it? Nothing else? How did you know I'd be here, anyway. It wasn't as if mom or I advertised the fact."

"It's a long story."

Bingo! She didn't care if he'd followed the directions of a fortune cookie. She just wanted to gain time, keep him talking, keep him _awake_. "Remember that movie we were going to see? I say we cancel it for story time."

His fingers moved just barely, enough to grace against hers. "I was in New York..."


	9. Becoming II

**Becoming II**

"This is personal. You don't need to be here." 

Buffy stared at Angel as if he'd suddenly grown horns and a tail. Of course it'd be personal; everything regarding Drusilla or Spike was always personal to him. She'd just believed that his 'personal' included her. Hers included him; she was all for a shared 'personal' between them, even when it included fretting because Drusilla had been abducted by... a really kind, not tortured by the past, good guy?

Angel didn't think so. He kept saying that time was running out. What for? He wouldn't tell.

For weeks he'd worked with her to get rid of the couple; but as soon as a badly hurt Spike had dropped through the apartment door – literally – her boyfriend had gotten _that_ look on his face. The look that sent her home and accepted no arguments; the one that made Cordelia back down and convinced Giles that they needed to change plans.

Buffy respected that look. If Angel really wanted to get up and rush out into God knew what, even after the ordeal of the day before, Buffy knew better than to try to stop him. Okay, she didn't. But if her efforts had fallen on deaf ears, then she had no option but to follow him.

Even when all she wanted was to scream at the injustice of it. She'd rather relax and celebrate the news, _not_ trail after him through sewers and abandoned places. 

But she was here, and he was sending her away? "I'm staying."

He passed a hand through his hair, a sure sign of his anxiety. "That wasn't what I…. Look. I know you don't want to be here. I can handle this on my own, Buffy."

That she'd had the exact thought just a second ago made Buffy feel guilty. "Nuh-uh." She even crossed her arms over her chest. She meant business, damnit. "You're sticking with me. I'm sticking with you. It'll be a whole sticky thing until this mess is over."

His eyes lost the obsessed look for a second; they grew soft and a small smile appeared on his face.

She smiled back, though she still wasn't sure whether this was right. He'd been seriously hurt. And… It was Drusilla! They'd been trying to kill each other for months. Of course, that didn't change the fact that Angel had travelled with her for decades, and that soul or no soul, he still felt that the vampiress was his responsibility, and…

…she'd brood about that fact later, when they were home.

She followed him deeper into the warehouse. In the next minutes it was obvious that this was just another dead end. The place looked as deserted as the others they'd been to.

"Angel?" He didn't answer; but she knew that he was listening. "What do we do when we find her? Call the others?"

He shrugged, kept forward. Buffy readied herself to go after him; but at last moment he halted, looked backwards and extended his hand towards her. "Thank you," he told her, before rounding and leading her into their next destination. Whatever that was.

Buffy sighed. Yes, this was the right choice. So what if all her instincts screamed that she held back? So what if Angel didn't have a sound plan for when they reached their objective? At least she'd gotten into his head that there was a 'they' and a 'their' to this.

For now, that was enough.


End file.
